Paper-fastening machine



M. R. HUTCHISON.

PAPER FASTENING MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2. I917.

Patented Jan 11,1921

5 SHEETS-SHEET l I D FIG. l8

M. R. HUTCHISON.

PAPER FASTENING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1917.

1,365,408. Patented Jan. 11,1921.

5 5HEETSSHEEI 2.

ug J9/97FIG- /39 97 99 FIG-4 M. R. HUTCHISON.

PAPER FASTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, I917.

Patented Jan. 11,1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG. 6 FIG] FKBM, 25W

FIGB FIGS I IR 72% @m 9mm a fi f M. R. HUTCHISON.

PAPER FASTENING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1917.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

a 5 d I TET'IG l7 951:, hi4 091013 f v PATENT OFFICE.

MILLER REESE Ho'rcmson, OFRWEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PAPER-FASTENING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

Application filed February 2, 1917. Serial No. 146,061.

To all to lwm it may concern:

Be it know that I, MILLER REESE HUTOHISON, a citizen of the United States, residing in est Orange, county of Essex. State of New Jersey, and United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Fastening Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve-- ments in machines for forming and setting staples, such as are used for fastening together sheets of paper. and for other similar purposes, and especially to a machine which will take the wire or material for forming the staple from a spool or other source'of supply, cut the same into proper lengths and form them into staples and finally drive and clench the staple. It will be apparent, however, that the novel features herein claimed may be used with advantage in machines performing only one or more of the fore going operations, and it is not my intention to limit myself other than as pointed out in the claims.

One object of my invention is to provide a new and improved form of feeding mechanism for such machines, and one into which the wire or material used can be easily and readily inserted.

Other and further objects of my invention will be made plain from the drawings and following specification, in which I have shown and described my improvements as applied to a particular type of machine. As stated, however, my present improvements, while extremely useful in such machine, need not necessarily be used therein, but can be employed in many other types and constructions without material modifications.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and which illustrates one preferred embodiment of my invention in the form of a compact handoperated paper fastening machine, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine with the cover removed. tion through the machine taken on line II-II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end view of the machine, a part of the end plate of the frame being broken away and portions of the machine being shown in section, illustrating the-parts after a partial movement of the operating handle has taken place, and the wire for forming a staple is about to be cut off. Fig. 4 is a front verti- Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical seccal sectional view of the parts shown in Fig. 3 takenon line IVIV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 1s a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the staple partly formed. Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing the staple formed and the staple-settin plunger about to begin its movement. ig. 7 is a front sectional view similar, to Fig. 4 showing the parts in the position illustrated in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the parts at af'slightly advanced stage in the cycle of operation, the setting plunger having begun itslaction of forcing back the staple-formin g horn and having just engaged the staple.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Figs; 3, 6 and 8 showing a further advance in the cycle of operation, the plunger having forced the staple partly through the papers. F ig.,10 is a front sectional view showing the position of the parts indicated in Fig. 9. Fig.1l is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing the final position of the parts and the staple clenched to the paper. Fig. 12 is a front sectional view showing the parts in the position shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a plan view of the anvil construction for clenching the staples. Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken on line XIV-XIV of Fig. 13, and Fig. 15 is a similar sectional view taken on line XV-XV of Fig. 18. Fig. 16 is a perspective View of the wire-feeding mechanism. Fig. 17 is a perspective View of the apparatus with the cover in place showing the guide marks for assisting in properly locating the articles to be stapled in correct position. 'Fig. 18 is a vertical sectional view through the wire-holding spool mounted on its support. 4

Supporting base-Referring now to the drawings in detail numeral 1 designates a base provided with end walls 2 and having a suitable slot or pocket 3 (see Fig. 17

formed in its front edge to receive the papers to be fastened. The base is preferably provided with a forwardly-projectiIig inclined lip 4 to assist in guiding the papers into the pocket. The base, end walls and pocket may conveniently be formed as an integral casting although this is not essential.

l-Vire-storing and tensioual means.-

Screwed into the base is a stud 5, which forms a bearing for a spool 6, upon which is wound a supply of wire or strip 7, which is .11

used for forming the fasteners or staples.

Such a spool may contain enough wire to form a great many thousands of staples, so that the machine has to be re-charged only at long intervals. The stud 5 is provided near its screw threaded end with a flange 5 against which one end of the spool is adapted to rest, an interposed washer being provided if desired. Suitable means are employed for preventing too rapid unwinding of the wire from the spool and for producing the proper tension on the wire, these means, in the form of apparatus illustrated, comprising a leaf spring 8 having an aperture through which the stud 5 passes, the ends of the spring bearing upon the face of the spool and being held in frictional engagement therewith by any suitable means, such as the nut 9. The spring 8 is prevented from rotating with the spool by having its end held by the ribs 10 formed on the end wall of the base, and I prefer so to construct these parts that the stud, nut and spool are permanently secured together in the relations shown, which can be accomplished by enlarging the upper end of the stud so that the nut cannot be entirely withdrawn. lVith this construction, when it is desired to re-charge the machine, all that is necessary is to unscrew the stud 5 from the base, it being provided with a slotted head for that purpose and thereupon a new spool element can be inserted by simply screwing the stud thereof into the machine.

Wire-straightening mecms.-The wire 7, after leaving the spool, passes through a guide 11 which, as illustrated, is in the form of a small member and then through a straightening device 12, comprising a pair of pins or disks 13 and a cooperating flanged guide 14, these members 13 and 14 serving to take the kink out of the wire and cause it to travel in a straight line to the stapleforming mechanism without springing out of alinement, owing to its previous coiled condition. In order to separate the members 13 and 14 to permit a new wire to be inserted between them and to provide for adjustment, the guide 1 1 is preferably eccentrically mounted upon a pivot screw 15 and is provided with an operating finger 16 by which it may be rotated about its pivot. The pivot screw may be tightened sufficiently to hold the guide 14: frictionally in whatever position it may be placed.

W 27 0- feeding mccimnimm-After coming from the straightening device the wire is engaged by feeding mechanism which at each operation of the machine draws enough wire from the spool to form a staple and feeds the same to the staple-formingmechanism. This feeding device may be of any suitable construction and location to accomplish the desired purpose, but as illustrated (see particularly Figs. 1 and 16) it comprises a. slide 20 mounted to reciprocate in a groove 21 formed in the inner face of a front plate 22 secured at its ends to the end walls of the base. The slide 20 carries a gripping jaw 23, and a movable jaw 25 is pivoted thereto at 26, the movable jaw being provided on its outer surface with teeth 27 for gripping the wire when cooperating with the jaw 23. A spring 28 holds the aw 25 against the wire. The movable jaw face 27 being offset with relation to the pivot 26, it will be seen that as the slide 20 and jaws move toward the wire straightening device they will slip freely along the wire, but when moved in the opposite direction the jaws will firmly grip the wire and carry it with them. Any suitable means may be employed for reciprocating the wire-gripping mechanism, these means being shown as comprising the lever 29 mounted on the pivot 30 and having a slot 31 in its outer end adapted to receive the pin 32 projecting from the jaw 23. The lever is forced in a direction to feed the wire forward by means of a cam 33 having an in cline l cam face 34. which engages with a roller 35 mounted on the lever, the cam being mounted on a shaft 36 which in the form of my invention illustrated constitutes the main operating shaft of the machine. \Vhen released by the cam the lever is returned to its initial position by a spring 37 attached to an arm 38 projecting from the hub of the lever, an adjustable bolt 140 serving to limit the return movement and thus the amount of wire feed, the bolt being secured in place by a lock nut 1&1 thereon. The shaft 36 is supported in any suitable manner, one end being shown as journaled in an upright 39 rising from the base of the machine, while the other end is journaled in the end wall 2. The. shaft is adapted to be partially rotated or oscillated by means of a handle or handlever 10 secured thereto.

('utt-ing-o/f am] sfapZi ng-f0rming mechanism.The wire is fed by the feeding mechanism just described through a hard metal die 50 mounted in a lug 51 projecting upwardly from the base (see Fig. 1). This die forms a stationary member of a cutting mechanism the movable member of which comprises a hard metal shear 52 having a cutting edge 53 and which is secured in a recess in the side of the staple-forming head 54. By this construction, which is very strong and simple, the movement of the staple-forming head first cuts off the wire and then forms it into a staple, as will be described; but while this is a preferred mecha' nism, it will be understood that the cutting mechanism may, if desired, be of any other suitable form than that shown, and may be entirely separate from the staple-forming mechanism. The staple-forming head 54 is bifurcated at its lower end so as to provide the two side portions 55 and is preferably provided with the hardened cheek p .ces or forming dies 56 which have vertical grooves 57 formed therein. The head is also provided with a guideway 58 in which slides the driving or setting plunger 59 which will be further described hereinafter. The forming head is mounted so as to have an up and down movement for cutting off the wire and forming the staple, the preferred method of mounting being that illustrated in the drawings in which the head forms the end of an arm 60 (Fig. 1) which is pivoted at 61 to the base. The arm and head are preferably held in raised position by springs 62 (see Fig. 2). The head and arm 60 are adapted to be forced down by a cam '63 mounted on the main shaft 36 and preferablyconstituting the inner end of the operating lever 40. This cam engages a bearing surface 64 on the arm and is shaped to provide a dwell or portion of substantially constant radius 65 which permits a certain amount of movement of the operating handle to take place before the head begins its downward movement. The dwell 65 is followed by an active surface 66 which forces down the arm and head during a further period of movement of the operating handle after which a second dwell 67 is reached upon the cam (see Fig. 9) which serves to hold the head down while the final movement of the operating handle drives and clenches the staple as will be described later.

For holding the section of wire after being cut off and to cooperate with the forming head in forming the staple, a staple-forming block or horn 70 is provided (Fig. 2). This block has an open sided slot 71 lnits front I face through which the wire is fed before being cut off, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, and in which the wire is held after being cut off and during the forming operation. The front face of this block is provided with inclined or cam surfaces 72 and 7 3 for the purpose which will be hereinafter explained, the upper of these surfaces preferably slightly overhanging the lower as shown. This forming block or horn is suitably mounted for reciprocating movement preferably directly upon the base 1, it being shown as having a shank 74 which slides in a guide 75 mounted upon the base,being normally held in projected position by a spring 7 7 mounted on a stem 78 and compressed between the shoulder 79 formed by the end of the shank 74- and a fixed abutment 80 secured to the base. (See Fig. 2). The bifurcation in the lower end of the forming head is of just suflicient width to receive the horn 70 and to form the staple by bending the end portions 81 of the section of wire over the horn so as to form the legs of the staple as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 these legs being received in the grooves 57 in the cheek pieces 56, while the center or body portion 82 of the staple is held in the slot 71 of the horn.

The operation, of the cutting off and forming mechanism will now be apparent. It

will be seen that as the 'arm and forming head are forced downward by the active surface of the cam 63 the section of wire held in the groove 71 in the horn will first be cut off by the cutting edge 53, whereupon the engagement of the corners of the jaws or check pieces 56 will immediately bend down the staple legs 81 as shown in Fig. 5, the forming head continuing its movement until the staple is completely shaped with its legs parallel, and held firmly in position in the grooves in the cheek pieces, as shown in Fig. 7. The dwell 67 on the cam is now reached so that the forming head is maintained in its downward position during the further operation of the handle which brings into action the staple driving and clenching devices now to be described.

Staple-driving and clenching mecham'sm8.The driving of the staple formed and held as described is accomplished by the driving plunger 59 above-mentioned, which is slidably mounted in the recess 58 ,in the forming head and has oppositely disposed ribs which engage in corresponding slots in the forming head. This plunger moves with j it being held in its uppermost position, as

shown in Figs. '2 and 3, by any suitable means such as the spring 91 engaging a lug 92 on the plunger, the spring being coiled about the main shaft as shown at 93, (see Fig. l) and its other end engaging a fixed pin 94. The plunger which is preferably formed of hardened steel is provided at its lower end with a groove 95 which is adapted at the proper time to receive the body portion 82 of the staple, and it preferably has its inside lower corner rounded, as indicated at 96, for engagement with the inclined surfaces 7 2 and 73 of the horn. Suitable means are provided for forcing down the plunger, this function being accomplished in the construction illustrated by the direct engagement of a projection 97 formed upon the handle 40 with the upper end of the plunger, as shown in Figs. 6, 8, 9. The first downward movement of the plunger with reference to the forming head causes the rounded corner 96 to engage the surface 72 on the horn, and owing to the inclination of such surface to force the latter backward as shown in Fig. 8 so as to withdraw the slot therein from engagement with the "body of the staple, the latter being meanwhile firmly held by the legs which are retained between the grooves in the cheek pieces of the forming head and sides of the horn. The body portion of the staple is now engaged by the groove in the lower end of the plunger and the slot 3 in the base as indicated by the broken lines 98 shown in Figs. 9, 11 and 12. As the forcing down of the staple progresses the horn is further retracted by the engagement of the corner of the plunger with the inclined surface 73 of the horn, as shown in Fig. 9. Thus it will be seen that the legs of the staple are firmly held between the cheek pieces and the horn during the actual driving operation. The legs of the staple, when driven through the paper, are turned under and clenched by the mechanism shown in detail in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. This construction consists of a sectional anvil, comprising a movable member 126 having a slot 127 extending through the center thereof, the ends 128 of the slot forming curved recesses for guiding the staple legs upon the beveled incline faces 129 of the fixed matrix 130, which normally projects into the slot 127. The matrix 130 is permanently secured to the under side of the base of the apparatus by any suitable means such as the screw 131, and the movable member 126 fits loosely in a recess 102 in the base. Two studs 132, having reduced screw threaded ends 133, pass through apertures 134 in the base and engage said member 126, as shown, and a spring 135 is secured at one end by a screw 136 to the bottom of the casing, and the opposite end 137 bears upon the heads of the studs 132 and normally forces them and the member 126 upward as shown in Fig. 14.

N oat-return ratcltet.As a precaution against improper manipulation of the device and incomplete operation thereof, whlch might cause a partially formed staple to jam in the machine, it is preferable to provide a ratchet mechanism which will prevent the reversal of direction of movement of the operating parts except after the completion of a stroke in either direction. A suitable mechanism for this purpose is shown which comprises a ratchet wheel 111 fixed to the shaft 36 and having a large number of small teeth 112 and also carrying two pins or stops 113 and 114. The ratchet wheel also has formed in it adjacent to the stop 113 a notch 115. Cooperating with this ratchet is a double-acting pawl 116 having two prongs 117 and 118 and which is pivoted at 119 to lugs 120 rising from the base. The pawl also has a rearwardly-projecting tail 121 which is adapted to cooperate with a spring 122. The latter is preferably formed with a wedge-shaped lug 123 at its end which is adapted to act upon either the upper or the lower surface of the tail and to cause either one or the other of the pawl prongs to engage with the ratchet depending upon whether the tail of the pawl is engaging the upper surface of the ln as shown in Figs. 2 and 9, or the lower sur ace thereof as shown in Fig. 11. The operation of this ratchet it will be seen is as follows: Starting with the handle in the position shown in Fig. 2 it will be seen that the ratchet will permit free motion of the shaft in the direction of the arrow, but that the pawl will immediately stop any motion in the opposite direction. When the stroke forward has been completed, however, it will be seen that the pin 113 will engage the lower prong of the ratchet which it is shown about to do in Fig. 9. This engagement will swing the ratchet about its pivot to an extent sufiicient to snap the tail of the pawl across the wedgeshaped projection of the spring, the notch 115 in the ratchet providing the necessary clearance for the lower prong of the pawl to permit this action. The handle is now free to be moved back to its original position, but it cannot be moved only part-way back and then moved forward again, as the pawl which now occupies the relation shown in Fig. 11 will prevent this. \Vhen the handle has been moved all the way back however the pin 114 will enga e the upper prong of the pawl as shown in *ig. 2 and restore the pawl to its original position.

Cover and spacing marks.The machine is preferably provided with a suitable removable cover such as is shown at 138, which fits down upon the base and end walls and front plate 22 so as to completely inclose the mechanism, it being shown as secured to the front plate 22 by the screw 131 (see Figs. 1 and 17). The cover is provided with a slot 139 through which the operating handle projects. Obviously any suitable form of cover or casing may be employed. In order to facilitate the proper location of the staples at equal distances from the sides of a bundle of papers, or pamphlet, or the like, which is to be stapled at more than one place, indicating arrows 124 and 125 are preferably placed on the front of the machine as shown in Fig. 17. The mark or arrow 124 is placed over the center of the clenching die while the mark 125 will be placed at a distance from the arrow 124 equal to the distance of the latter from the right hand end of the machine. In setting the staples the papers are inserted in the slot 3 with the right-hand edge of the papers flush with the right-hand forming head thereby cutting off the length of wire for the firststaple and forming it as already described. Further forward movement of the handle causes the projection 97 to engage the end of the driving plunger and forces the latter down, which drives the staple and simultaneously presses back the horn and ultimately by forcing the grooved cheek legs of the staple into engagement with the grooves 128 in the anvil member 126, guides them upon the oppositely beveled faces respectively of the fixed matrix 130. In the normal position, shown in Fig. 14, the

top of the fixed matrix is below the upper face of the member 126, and the legs of the staple are caused to dispose themselves side by side and are prevented from spreading apart. Continued movement of the handle, however, forces the forming head still lower until it contacts with the member 126, and, depressing it against the tension of the spring 135, clenches and flattens out the legs of the staple, which are in contact. with the beveled faces of the matrix 130. By this means, I am enabled to produce a fasteningwhich has but slight thickness and which is extremely secure and eificient. 'lhroughout the driving of the staple and until the legs are substantially buried in the aper, it will be seen that the staple is firm y supported between the horn and the pieces of the forming head. Vhen the staple has been driven and clenched the handle is moved back to original position, either by hand or by means of a spring or otherwise. This movement permits the driving plunger to be restored to its initial position with relation to the driving head by the action of the spring 91, while the driving head is lifted to its initial position by the spring 62. The horn is also restored to its position by the spring 77. All of these movements take lace while the handle is moving from its orward position to a substantially upright position, as shown in Fig. 3, and duringthis time the feed leverhas occupied its left-hand position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The farther backward movement of'the handle causes the cam face 34 to engage the roller 35 and thereby feed the wire through the die and into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, when the device is ready for another operation. Thus it will be seen that the first part of the forwardstroke of the handle restores the feed device to a position to feed a second length of wire, while the last part of the forward stroke cuts off, forms and clenches the staple, while on the back stroke the firstpart of the stroke restores the form-, ing and driving mechanism to initial position, while the last part of the stroke moves the lever 29 into the position shown in Fig. 1 to feed anew length of wire, to placethe machine in condition for a second operation. The entire operation of the device thus requires merely a forward and backward movement of the handle which may be and preferably is less than 180 degrees in extent, and all the operating parts are driven from a simple rock shaft having the necessary cams and ratchets mounted thereon. In fact in the preferred construction shown the actual operations of cutting off the wire, staple forming and driving are performed by parts driven directl by portions of the operating handle itselfi The utmost simplicity of parts and the maximum efficiency of operations are thus insured.

It will be understood that numerous changes in the organization of the apparatus and in the details of construction of various parts may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. Therefore, while I have'illustrated and described one preferred form of embodiment, I Wish to make it clear that I do not limit myself thereto, but intend to cover my invention and various features thereofbroadly and in whatever form they may be embodied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new herein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with means to form staples from wire and a staple driving plunger, of clenching mechanism comprising a matrix, a movable anvil member and a spring urging the anvil member toward the plunger, said anvil member having a slot Whose upper corners are cut away to initially bend the staple, said matrix being transversely beveled along the upper edge thereof whereby the ends of a staple are directed past one another. I

2. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a wire mechanism, staple forming means and a staple driving plunger, of a fixed #:matrix having beveled inclined faces alongside one another, a movable anvil or work support cooperating with the matrix, and means for-operating said plunger to set and clench'the staple against the matrix.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a wire mechanism, staple forming means and a staple driving plunger, of a fixed matrix having beveled inclined faces alongside one another. a movable anvil provided with a slot to accommodate the matrix and with means to dimet the staple-ends onto the beveled inclined faces aforesaid, and means for operating said plunger to set and clench the staple against the matrix.

4. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a wire mechanism, staple forming means and a staple driving plunger, of a fixed matrix having beveled inclined faces alongside one another, a

spring actuated movable anvil provided with a slot to accommodate and position the matrix, said anvil member having means to direct the ends of the staples toward the matrix, and means for operating said plunger to set and elench the staples against the matrix.

MILLER REESE HUTCHISON. 

